This is another short chapter, but I really wanted to get one out today. The reason is so that I can explain something.
I've talked about how I'm going to get my wisdom teeth out for a while. Well, tomorrow is the scheduled date of my surgery. I don't know when I'll be able to write again, and I don't want to keep you guys waiting. So here you go. It's not my favorite chapter, but it's something.
SATURDAY, JULY 17, 201X - 2:13 PM
ROUTE 216, SINNOH
HIGH TEMPERATURE: 55 DEGREES
It had now been two days.
Two days since Sam and Muller had left Eterna City. Two days since Koloktos had attacked the children. Two days since they'd seen the video.
That was a long time. A lot could happen in two days.
However, in this case, not a whole lot had occurred. The fact still remained that they were trying to find and capture Lucas Snow, Andromeda Watson, Solanna Luzon, and Tanner Warren. It also still remained that they had not captured any of them, in spite of their best efforts.
"This is a long way to walk" Muller complained. He was lagging behind Sam by a good ten or fifteen meters.
"Well, what did you expect?" Sam replied testily. "This isn't headquarters, Muller. It's not as though we're not supposed to walk a lot out here; you should have been prepared for this from the very beginning".
The other man shrugged. Sam wished that he could have not been so harsh towards his longtime friend. He hated to do so.
At the same time, however, Sam felt as though Muller didn't always fully understand the gravity of their task. Somehow, he felt that this was far bigger than Team Rocket itself. There was a lot more involved here.
He'd never particularly been one to believe in destiny; he'd always found that proposition absolutely ridiculous. Certainly, when other people talked about it, he'd always wondered what they were thinking; they had to be insane to even bring up the possibility.
Now, though, he wasn't so sure. Maybe, just maybe, there was something influencing everything. Something going on, tying all of this together.
Great, Sam, he told himself. Now you're thinking like a conspiracy theorist. Nobody likes a conspiracy theorist, so put a sock in it. Stop worrying; it'll be okay.
At night, they had slept under the stars, as they had not brought tents or sleeping bags with them. As a result, it had been fairly hard to get to sleep much of the time.
However, it wasn't all that bad. They had brought extremely warm winter coats to sleep in, which was good, because it got quite cold at night up in the mountains, even in the middle of the summer.
"We're getting close to a town" Muller said. "Do you want to send the video to them once we get into the area with reception?"
Sam barely even had to think about it. After all, both of their jobs were at stake. They had nothing to lose by doing so.
"Yeah, let's do that" he replied. "Maybe we can persuade them to extend the deadline".
As he said it, he felt somewhat like that was wishful thinking. It very well may have been, but he wanted to think optimistically for a change.
For instance, it could have been that they were still trying to make their way through Eterna Forest. That had been an absolute nightmare, one that neither of them particularly wanted to repeat.
"Okay" Muller said, once his iPhone stated that there was a Wi-Fi signal. "Do you want to stop in this town, get a bite to eat, before we keep going?"
Sam saw no reason to refuse. After all, he was getting pretty hungry as well. They were a good bit into the afternoon, and they hadn't had lunch yet.
"I suppose so" Sam replied. "Let's do that".
As soon as they arrived in Coronet Town, Sam realized that the base wasn't very far away at all. Indeed, it was quite close to the town; somewhere that they could go at any time, if they wanted to.
"Do you want to head back to the base and show them the video there?" Sam asked Muller. "After all, we're right there, practically. It'll be a really quick stop; we could have lunch there".
"No" Muller replied. "When you think about it, there will be people who see us enter the mountain. They're going to be highly suspicious of us, and for good reason. No, I think it's best that we just stay in the town. Maybe get some sleeping bags as well".
Sleeping bags.
The very notion of having some kind of covering, besides the winter jackets, sounded absolutely heavenly to Sam. He envisioned himself being able to wrap in the sleeping bag, being comfortable enough to sleep without freezing to death. Because he'd been pretty cold the last two nights, much colder than he'd been in Eterna Forest. It didn't help that he was used to the relatively constant temperatures inside the Mount Coronet base.
They were able to see Coronet Town a little more clearly now. It was just a little bit south of the base for Charlie's Angels, but the residents of the town, going about their mid-afternoon business, didn't seem to realize that. There was none of the type of panic that one would usually think would be there.
They should be panicking, Sam thought. They know what we're capable of. We've got tons of laboratories in the base.
Most of the town's houses were made out of stone, with plenty of stone walls extended around the village. In addition, there were a great many buildings that were only one story tall, as though they felt like they should be small and insignificant next to the mountain that watched over the town.
Which, of course, was the case.
"Let's not go to a pizzeria this time" Sam said. He knew that he probably sounded a little childish, insisting that they didn't go to one, but he just didn't want to remember how close they had been to capturing the children. Even if they would have gotten captured themselves as a result.
"Fine with me" Muller replied.
Meanwhile, Lucas and his friends had just departed Eterna City, heading up Route 216.
"Man, I like this route" Tanner said. "We took a train through here once, from Eterna City to Snowpoint City".
Part of Lucas wished that they were taking a train now. At least then they wouldn't have to walk so far. He knew that exercise might help him feel less stressed about everything, but he still wanted to get to Lake Acuity as quickly as possible.
Sinnoh was the world's northernmost region; Lucas had never been this far north. He knew it would be cold in its northernmost city; the question was how cold.
For that reason, as soon as they had left Eterna City, they'd bought four parkas to go along with their sleeping bags. Not only would they be necessary in the higher altitudes of the mountains at night, they would also be necessary once they reached the area where there was snow on the ground all year round.
"That must have been beautiful" Andromeda replied. "How long did it take?"
"Eh, about half a day" Tanner said. "About twelve hours. I think you asked me that because you wanted to know how long it would take on foot".
"Yeah" Solanna replied. "I was wondering. If we walk at three miles per hour, and it's 720 miles to Snowpoint City from Eterna City…".
"That would make it take two hundred and forty hours, or ten days" Lucas replied, proud of his math skills. "Except that it would be more, because we're also taking breaks to eat and sleep. So, two or three weeks".
Immediately, his heart sank at the thought. Two or three weeks of hiking this trail...at least there would be some Pokemon centers scattered every so often. They would get to call their parents. It could be worse.
Even with reassuring himself that things could be worse, he didn't find that to be much consolation. If things could be worse, that meant that they could get worse.
"We spent two weeks in Jubilife City" Solanna said. "We're about to spend that much time hiking Routes 216 and 217. It's insane, isn't it?"
"Indeed it is" Andromeda replied. "But it's the way things go. I promise you, on the way back, we'll take a train. I wanted to take this walk at least once, though".
"Why?" Lucas asked.
"Just to experience it" the older boy answered. "It just always sounded like something that would be interesting to do, and now we're doing it. Once we get up there, though, you know what's happening".
"Another gym battle. And we might stay there for a while" Lucas replied. "Yeah, I know".
"Not just that" Andromeda replied. "There's more, too".
Lucas didn't know if he understood. "What more is there to know?"
"Well, for one, Team Rocket is still after us. It's very possible that they will be expecting us up in Snowpoint City".
The youngest boy's heart stopped. "Are you serious? Then why are we going up there?"
"I really think it's worth the risk" Andromeda replied. "We can't live our lives in fear, Lucas".
"He has a point" Tanner said. "When you've travelled as much as I have, you'll know that there are some things that you just have to deal with. Me in particular, I like to get as much adventure in as possible".
"I see" Lucas replied. He still wasn't too keen on the idea of heading up there, even if there was the remotest possibility that Team Rocket was going to be lying in wait for them in Snowpoint City. However, he did understand what the other two boys were saying. He couldn't constantly be afraid of everything.
"Maybe they'll be there" Solanna said. "Maybe they won't be. Either way, we need to be prepared for just about anything. We don't know what type of Pokemon they will have with them, what type of Pokemon they might have stolen".
That was a chilling thought. Lucas didn't like to think about it, but it was true.
Just then, there was a sudden orange blur in front of them. Something was running at a really high speed; at least, that was what it looked like.
"Must be a Pokemon" Lucas said. "It must be".
"If we're going to fend off an attack from Team Rocket", Andromeda said, "it'll be nice to have as many Pokemon on our side as possible. Tanner, can you do this?"
"You bet" Tanner replied. The orange blur was just a little bit ahead of them, but it was clearly still going to be possible to catch up if they were fast enough. Tanner had shown himself, over the last few weeks, to be the fastest runner in the group, so he was going to be the one to try and catch said blur.
"Get it, Tanner!" Solanna cheered.
Even though Tanner was quite small, he was able to sprint very quickly. Soon, he was right next to the creature, which appeared to be a Growlithe.
"I won't hurt you" the boy said. "Come with us; we need all the help we can get".
The Growlithe looked at Tanner with a somewhat suspicious expression, then leaped forward and started licking his face. Tanner fell backward, clearly trying not to laugh.
"Huh...yeah, this is quite funny, isn't it?" he said breathlessly. Clearly, some of the wind had been knocked out of him.
Growlithe started smiling as he continued to lick Tanner's face. "Please get off of me" the boy said eventually. "You're crushing me. Please let me breathe".
The Growlithe obliged, allowing Tanner to catch his breath. "I'm going to name you...Courtland. That sounds like a nice name for someone like you".
The newly-christened Courtland looked extremely happy at that, but then started frowning.
"You don't want to come with us?" Solanna asked. She'd jogged up to meet Tanner and Courtland where they were in the path, and Andromeda and Lucas came from right behind them. "Why not?"
Courtland started speaking. His voice sounded almost like it was a bark, except that it was clearly a voice; words were intelligible.
"I do want to come with you" the Growlithe replied, sounding very happy indeed. "But I do have unpleasant news for you".
"What's that?" Solanna said sweetly. It wasn't a poisoned-honey type of voice; rather, it was one of pure kindness, almost like a mother would use.
"There were some people running in the opposite direction. They had black uniforms".
All four children gasped at that.
Everyone knew that, if a person wore a black uniformed with the red letter R stenciled on it, that meant that they were a member of Team Rocket. It appeared, now, that this was what Courtland was talking about.
"Anything else on the uniforms?" Andromeda asked Courtland. "This is important, now. If there's anything else you want us to know, anything else you think is necessary for us to know, you had better tell us. Our fate might depend on it".
The Growlithe paused, but, judging by just how heavy the air felt during the pause, it was clear to tell what he was going to say next.
"The letter R".
Sam and Muller now sat in a bar in Coronet Town. Watching other patrons of said bar play pool, they looked at the world going by beside them.
"I'm telling you", Muller said, "we are going to catch those kids. If we don't, we're fired. But we won't get fired, because we are going to get them".
"What makes you so confident?" Sam asked, taking a sip out of his drink.
"Determination" the other man said simply. "When you set your mind to something hard enough, it doesn't matter just how difficult it is. You can accomplish it".
That was a pleasing thought for Sam, but it didn't completely reassure him. Somehow, he got the feeling that things could go horribly wrong, and they might not be able to get the children in time for their deadline.
"July twenty-fifth" Sam said. "That's not a lot of time. Only eight days to go".
"We could call the base" Muller suggested. "We could try and persuade them to give us more time. I think that would work well".
"You do?" Sam asked. "Why do you think that would work?"
They already knew about Koloktos, how it was almost able to stop them. He'd thought that the notion that they could have their time extended was outlandish before. Now, he wasn't so sure.
"Let's try it" Sam replied. "But let me make one thing perfectly clear".
"What is that?" Muller asked him.
"We're not doing it in here".
The other man looked around. "No, definitely not".
Sam smiled. "I'm glad we see eye to eye".
Lucas: Orkun - Lucario: Aura Sphere, Laser Focus, Foresight, Quick Attack, Detect, Metal Claw, Counter, Feint, Power-Up Punch (Level 17). Vinaka - Vulpix: Ember, Tail Whip, Roar, Baby-Doll Eyes, Quick Attack, Confuse Ray (Level 12). Takali - Totodile: Scratch, Leer, Water Gun, Rage, Bite, Scary Face (Level 15).
Andromeda: Tai - Turtwig: Tackle, Withdraw, Razor Leaf (Level 16). Soko - Luxio: Tackle, Leer, Charge, Spark, Bite (Level 18).
Solanna: Aparri - Charmeleon: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage (Level 19). Bayon - Machop: Low Kick, Leer, Focus Energy, Karate Chop, Foresight, Low Sweep (Level 13). Kasama - Pikachu: Tail Whip, Thunder Shock, Growl, Play Nice, Quick Attack, Electro Ball, Thunder Wave (Level 19).
Tanner: Tavua - Chimchar: Scratch, Leer, Ember, Taunt, Fury Swipes, Flame Wheel (Level 21). Zapatera - Zorua: Scratch, Leer, Pursuit, Fake Tears, Fury Swipes, Feint Attack, Scary Face, Taunt (Level 26). Courtland - Growlithe: Bite, Roar, Ember, Leer, Odor Sleuth, Helping Hand, Flame Wheel, Reversal, Fire Fang (Level 21).